


Held to Love

by steviesbvck



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Tennis, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, The Tennis AU We All Deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-29 21:08:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11449089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/steviesbvck/pseuds/steviesbvck
Summary: Steve and Bucky have known each other since they were kids on the Junior Circuit, and quickly became rivals on the court, but behind the scenes they were best friends. When an injury forces the US Men's Doubles team to pull out weeks before the Olympic Games, can Steve and Bucky pull together a partnership on the court?





	1. Match Point

**Author's Note:**

> So I was watching Wimbledon and realised its a damn tragedy we don't have a Stevebucky as best friends who are rivals on court but would do anything for each other off court AU, so I decided to fix that. Shoutout to my loves, Noe and Sara, for cheerleading this whole thing and encouraging what you're about to read. 
> 
> Please enjoy, and let me know what you think and hit me up on tumblr [iamnotsebastianstan.](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)

 

"Advantage Barnes. Mr Rogers has 1 challenge remaining."

Bucky can feel the sweat as it rolls down his neck, standing out there in the mid July heat. This is it. He's one point away from being Wimbledon champion. One good serve, one ace, that's all he needs.

Inhale. He throws the ball up. Exhale. He swings.

"Game, set and match Mr Barnes."

The crowd are on their feet, cheers and chants of his name fill the stands of centre court as Bucky falls to his knees. The screen in front of him tells him that at 132mph, he'd served a ball almost no one could have returned. He takes a moment to collect himself before looking up to throw the crowd a winning smile.

On the other side of the court, his opponent, Steve Rogers, is smiling just as wide as he applauds Bucky's achievement. Bucky stands and jogs around the net. Steve offers his hand, which Bucky uses to pull him into a hug.

"Well played Rogers, didn't make that easy for me." Bucky says into his ear. Steve laughs and congratulates him, as the media swoop in to get the first reaction from the new Wimbledon champion.

Waving to his team and giving a little victory punch, Bucky makes his way to where the reporters are waiting at the edge of the court. First up is Sue Barker of the BBC.

"Well Bucky, how are you feeling right now?"

"Overwhelmed, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of relief, mostly joy. To have even made it to the final is incredible, I think most people know that grass is not my favourite surface to play on, and I've only made it into the second week here 3 times before, so to get to this final meant a lot. To have played against Steve, he's always a challenge, always brings his best, he's great to play against, it could just have easily been him standing here."

"He really made you fight for it that's for sure, it was quite the battle between the two of you out there."

"Yeah I mean, look, Steve is an incredible player, he's won here on this stage before, he beat me at the Australian open earlier in the year, we had a tough match at the French open, y'know, he's probably my toughest opponent out here, and if he was standing here there's no doubt it would have been deserved, and I'm sure he'll come back next year and try and take his title back."

Bucky looks over to where Steve is stood just to the side of him and the reporters, and raises a challenging eyebrow at him. Steve laughs and claps his hands together.

"You better believe it Barnes!" Steve shouts over, with a smile on his face.  
Bucky smiles back, "Wouldn't doubt it for a second Rogers" he says before turning his attention back to the presenter in front of him.

"Well, all that's left for us to say is a huge congratulations, it's been an absolute joy watching you play over the last 2 weeks. Wimbledon champion! Enjoy it."

"Thank you, thank you very much, appreciate it." Bucky offers his hand to the presenter, and then the camera operator, before turning away. He looks around the stands again, taking in the moment once more, and then heads back to the changing rooms, patting Steve on the shoulder as he goes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the door shut behind him, Bucky sits heavily on the bench, takes his hair down, leans his head back against the wall and exhales. He can't quite believe he actually did that. It took 5 sets and more than once he thought that maybe Steve would get the jump on him, but he'd held his own, he'd done it, he'd done That. He looks forward at the sound of the door opening and see's Steve entering the room.

"Hey champ," he says as he sits down next to Bucky, "how's it feel?"

"I don't really know? Feels surreal. Like I'm dreaming, like I'm sorta watching myself win I guess?" Steve quirks an eyebrow and Bucky knows what's coming before Steve even opens his mouth.

"You dream about me often then Buck?" Bucky punches him in the arm.

"Asshole, no I only see you in my nightmares." he says, but the smile he's giving Steve takes all heat out of the words. Steve laughs and puts his arm around Bucky's shoulders and pulls him closer to his side.

"Sorry you lost by the way." Bucky says and turns to look at Steve.

"If I had to lose to someone, I don't exactly mind it being you, at least I didn't lose to Stark, I'd never hear the end of it." Steve replies with a smirk.

"Please, as if you'd lose to Stark. He puts on a good show I'll give him that, but he hasn't got a patch on your skill, and no defence against the power of your backhand" Bucky responds without even a moments hesitation.

"Thanks Buck, nice to see you still have faith in me after such a crushing defeat." Steve teases before giving Bucky a noogie and standing up. "Right. You ready to go get your trophy?"

Bucky breathes in and out slowly, preparing himself. "I think so." Steve smiles and gestures for him to lead the way. Just as Bucky's about to open the door, Steve stops him.

"Hey Buck?"  
"Yeah Steve?"  
"I'm really proud of you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next couple of hours of Bucky's life went by in such a blur, he's not entirely sure he was actually there for most of it. From being handed the trophy back on centre court, to shaking hands with future King of England, Prince William and Kate Middleton, to doing a press conference as the winner, the whole thing was so unbelievable, he struggled to take it all in.

By the time he gets back to his hotel for the night, he's exhausted and ready for his head to just hit his pillow. That is until he walks into his lobby and sees his sister, Becca, waiting for him. Her face lights up when she sees him, in all the whirlwind earlier, Bucky had hardly had 5 minutes with his family since winning. She runs at him and he catches her with ease as she wraps her arms around his neck.

"Hey there Becks," he says quietly. Becca looks up from where she'd pressed her face to his neck and is smiling at him.

"I can't believe my big brother just won Wimbledon, holy shit, we gotta drink to this," Becca says as she jumps down from the hug.

"I can't believe your big brother just won Wimbledon, but I can't drink to it, the olympics start 3 weeks from now, I'm back in training on Tuesday." Bucky says. There's very little down time in a normal year, but throw the olympics in too and he barely has time to breathe between tournaments, let alone drink.

"Okay well you can have Orange Juice from a Champagne glass and I'll drink to it, come on," she says and doesn't give him a moment to respond because she takes his hand and pulls him through to the hotel bar. Where his entire family are waiting under a blue "Let's Go Bucky, Let's Go!" banner, along with Steve and his family, his team, and Sam and Natasha, partners both on court and in life, and also two of his best friends.

"Congratulations!" they all cheer when they see him walk in. Bucky feels a little choked up, but tries to play it off,

"I only won a couple hours ago, where did you get the banner, what if I'd lost?" His dad is the one to reply,

"Come and look at it from this side kid" and when Bucky walks over he sees a red "Let's Go Rogers, Let's Go!" banner. He laughs, and gives his Mum and Dad a hug.

"Thank you guys, this is really sweet, I don't really know what to say, just thank you all for your love and support." he says, and makes his way around to say hello to everyone. When he gets to where Steve, Sam and Nat are sat, he's reconsidering his objection to that drink Becca suggested.

"I know the olympics are in 3 weeks but, I could really use a drink right now" he says as he takes a seat next to Steve.

"You and me both pal," Steve says, putting an arm around Bucky's shoulders, which Bucky leans into, "but we gotta get a plane tomorrow and you don't wanna do it with a hangover." Bucky has to agree with him there. He hates flying at the best of times, he definitely doesn't want to add a hangover to that. Across from them, Sam and Nat are both looking at their phones.

"Are you guys texting each other right now?" Bucky asks, and Nat looks up.

"Sorry, no it's an email from Sharon," Sharon is their coach, if she's emailing them so soon after the end of a tournament, it must be important. Sam finishes for Natasha as she finishes reading the email, "Apparently Banner is injured and can't partner Stark at the olympics, so Stark has pulled out, it looks like we don't have a men's doubles team anymore."

"That's unfortunate, is Bruce going to be okay do we know?" Steve asks, the concern clear on his face. Steve's always been like that, a worrier. He cares about people so much, Bucky has always admired that about him.

"There's not much information, looks like a torn ACL in training, probably going to need surgery. " Nat replies, and the 3 guys wince in sympathy. At that moment, Bucky notices his coach Clint, and Steve's coach Nick approaching them. It's Nick that speaks first,

"I'm guessing you have all heard the news about Banner and Stark?" They all just nod. "So we could go forward without entering a men's doubles team. But Clint and I were talking, and seems to us, we coach two of the world's best men's singles players." Bucky and Steve both quirk an eyebrow. They can see where this is going.

"What would you guys say to playing with each other for a few weeks?" Clint says, and then immediately regrets his word choice when he sees the smirk that goes across both their faces.

"I don't know Steve, you wanna play with me for a few weeks?" Bucky says and Steve shrugs back,  
"Well, playing with a partner has gotta be twice the fun of playing with yourself." and Bucky can barely contain his laughter. Nick and Clint however look as if they're second guessing their own idea, so Steve says,

"Can we let you know before we fly back tomorrow?" and Nick nods.

"Sure thing, take the night, discuss it, let us know in the morning." and then he and Clint bid them goodnight. It's not long after that, that everyone starts filtering out until eventually it's just Steve and Bucky left. Steve still has his arm around Bucky's shoulders and Bucky is very nearly asleep.

"So, what do you think about it then?" Steve asks quietly. Bucky lifts his head slightly from Steve's shoulder to look up at him.

"What do I think about what?" he says, slightly confused.

"You and me, doubles team, Rogers and Barnes. What do you make of it?" Steve says back, and Bucky's pretty sure there's a hint of hope in his voice.

"Well first of all, it'd be Barnes and Rogers, its alphabetical, but I'm up for it if you are? It could be interesting." and Bucky decides then that whatever happens in the next few weeks, win or lose at the Olympics, the smile Steve gives him when he agrees is worth it. Steve reaches into his pocket to take out his phone, and sends a text Nick.

**Steve [23:58]:** We're in.  
**Nick [23:58]:** Training starts Tuesday.

Steve looks down at Bucky, whose head is back to resting on Steve's shoulder. "So, I guess we're partners now?" he says, and Bucky can't help the small smile that crosses his face when he responds,

"Yeah, I guess we are."


	2. Break Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training begins! 
> 
> As before, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think, catch me on tumblr @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)

By the time Tuesday rolled around, Bucky and Steve were back in Miami for training, and Bucky was ready to get going. He was excited to train with Steve, who was without a doubt one of the best players in the game at the moment, and spending more time with his best friend is never a bad thing. It was 11am and Bucky had already been in the gym for 2 hours that morning, and was hitting a few practice shots out on the court when he heard Steve join him.

“Hey Buck, how was your flight back?” Steve asked as he started stretching.

“Not bad, I tried to sleep through most of it, best way to deal with flying anxiety is to be unconscious throughout I find.” Steve gives him a sympathetic smile and jogs over to the other side of the net.

“Let's see if you can beat me again” he says and bounces a ball, ready to serve. Bucky smirks and squares his stance, ready to return whatever Steve has to throw at him.

“Oh, I could beat you any day, let's go.” They play 4 games, Steve winning 2 and Bucky winning 2, and Bucky's got a break point on Steve in the 5th when Nick and Clint make their way onto the court.

“Looking good boys, but we already know you can play well against each other, how about we see what you can do together?” Clint says and gestures for Steve to join them on Bucky’s side of the court. “So when was the last time either of you played doubles?” he asks. Bucky's pretty sure the answer is the same for Steve as it is for him, which is to say, not recently.

“I've not played since I was in the juniors, about 8 years ago maybe? Must have been about 16 or 17? Same for you Steve?” Bucky asks.

“I partnered Nat for a charity game a couple years back but not properly since the juniors, no” Steve responds. So they're going to have their work cut out for them.

“Most of the guys in these games are going to have been playing together for months at worst and years at best, and we have to get you two working together that well in weeks. You're going to have to think as one, know what the other is going to do before they do, read each other's movements. You've both got the skills no doubt, these next 3 weeks are going to be about building the partnership. You ready?” Nick asks from the opposite side of the court, and Clint goes over to join him. Steve and Bucky look at each other and Steve raises his fist. Bucky taps his fist to Steve's.

“Let’s do this.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They train for 3 hours before breaking for food. It's going well, they know each other's strengths and have an idea of each other's weaknesses. The biggest problem they’ve got is knowing how to move together. They’re both so used to covering the full court, they forget sometimes that someone else is there and they don't have to cover the whole thing themselves. But they've got time to work on that, so Bucky is feeling pretty good. He sits down opposite Steve to tuck into a light lunch, and snaps a quick picture for instagram before he does. Steve’s got a cap on backwards and his trademark aviators, and his white tank makes the tan he's somehow already developed from 2 days back in Miami, glow nicely against the blue sky backdrop. He’s looking to the right as Nick and Clint play a few friendly points whilst they eat. He posts it with the caption

**itsbuckybarnes** : training has begun, getting olympics ready with this guy @thesteverogers

Steve sees the notification pop up on his phone, and smiles over at Bucky. “Taking photos of me Barnes?” Bucky, with a mouthful of ham, says

“Was admiring the view, you just happen to be in the way.” Steve just chuckles and types out a comment, before scrolling through his feed briefly.

**thesteverogers** : well y’know what they say, if you can't beat them, join them

He likes a picture of Sam training that Nat posted, he's in his usual white shirt with a red wing insignia on the arm. He's had that logo since he was in the juniors and fans have affectionately taken to calling him redwing.

Bucky finishes eating and just sits and watches his friend, he's a fascinating person to just sit and watch. He's so expressive, Bucky thinks it's a wonder he manages to keep his cool so well on court, because off court, you can read him like a book. He watches the way his brow creases when he concentrates, the way he bites his lip when he doesn't like what he's reading, the way the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly before he shows him a video of a dog in a swimming pool. Objectively Bucky can admit that Steve is beautiful. He's strong and lean and his smile is infectiously bright and he’s talking to him right now, how long has he been talking?

“Yo, Bucky? Did you fall asleep sitting there? Buck?” Steve has taken his aviators off and is looking at Bucky with some concern.

“Sorry, no just zoned out there for a moment, what’d I miss?”

“I just asked if you were ready to get back to training?” Steve said as he stood up from his seat. Bucky put his napkin on his plate and finished his drink before standing up too.

“Yeah, let’s.”

They trained for 2 more hours and the movements started to improve, and if Bucky spent more time than strictly necessary watching the arch of Steve’s back, or the stretch in his thighs when he jumped for a ball, then it could only help him read his movements better. At least that's what he was going with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next few days pass in much the same way, they meet in the gym for 9, move to the court at 11, and then train for 7-8 hours each day, and leave by 8pm. Bucky’s apartment is closer to the training court than Steve’s is, so he always gets there slightly earlier. So he's surprised on Saturday when he walks into the pool to do a few lengths and see’s Steve already there. Steve could have been a swimmer, Bucky thinks. He's built like one, broad shoulders to a ridiculously narrow waist, strong thighs. Watching the way he cuts through the water with ease, Bucky thinks yeah, Steve definitely could have been a swimmer. He doesn't know quite how long he stands there watching, but Steve notices him and smiles as he pulls himself out of the pool. Bucky’s breath catches in his throat as he tracks the water droplets down Steve’s torso. He mentally shakes himself out of it and says,

“You're here early, everything okay?” Steve’s eyes soften, touched that Bucky would worry about him when he changes his routine.

“Fine Buck, just couldn't get back to sleep this morning, figured I'd make use of the extra time. Gonna hit the gym now, you coming?” Bucky’s gotten distracted again by a water droplet slowly moving down Steve’s neck.

“Uh, I’m gonna do a few lengths, I'll be there in 20.” he says, tearing his eyes away from Steve’s neck to his face.

“Cool, have fun” Steve says and snaps his towel against Bucky’s ass before jogging into the gym with a smirk.

“Asshole!” Bucky shouts after him before stepping into the pool, and just hears Steve’s laughter as a response.

So he may have a slight crush on his best friend. Just a tiny little smattering of feelings for his best friend. That’s fine, Bucky can totally deal with it, no reason to bring them up right now, they have the Olympics to focus on. They've got their individual discipline and their team event to work on, both of which are more important than the slight, minuscule, teensy crush he may or may not have for his friend. He’ll deal with it after they win gold.

When Steve comes back in, wearing just his shorts to tell Bucky that Nick and Clint have arrived, and that he ordered him his usual for breakfast, Bucky is strong enough to admit to himself that okay. It might be slightly more than a small crush. 


	3. A Set Up to Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The training continues, a week to go before the games begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than the previous two but I'm gonna give you chapter 4 too because I'm nice like that. I hope you enjoy, kudos and comments and let me know what you think on tumblr @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)

By the middle of their second week of training, they've increased to 9 hours of training a day. Nick and Clint are both impressed with how quickly they've fallen into a rhythm together. The first few days were bumpy, and they weren't reading each other as well as they should have been, but now, their movements are fluid and assured.

“I guess it's just a natural chemistry” Steve jokes with Nick whilst Bucky gets some practice in with Clint for his singles games. Steve watches Bucky move. He’s light on his feet, he bounces like a panther ready to pounce as he waits for a serve, he's fast too. He can get across a court to a drop shot quicker than almost anyone. The only person quicker is Steve himself. Watching Bucky play is like watching a dancer, the way he reaches for volleys, and jumps for a smash, and twists into difficult returns, he’s fluid and lithe, and a pleasure to watch. Steve takes out his phone and records a short video of him for social media. It's late now, nearing 9pm, and they've only got about an hour of natural light left.

“Hey Steve, come over here, I want to work on my return from the net.” Bucky says, and he looks so eager, Steve can't find it in him to say no.

By the time they're done, it's gone 10, and Steve is ready to just crash out for the night. Bucky must pick up on how tired he is because he says

“You want to just crash at my place tonight? It's closer and you can leave your car here and I’ll drive us in tomorrow?” Steve smiles gratefully and finishes packing up his stuff.

“Thanks Buck, that’d be great.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky’s apartment is modest. It's not that he can't afford a big place, he's made over $20 million just in prize money over his career so far, and that's not including endorsement deals. He just never really saw the need in buying a big spacious place for only him, especially when he spends most of his time on a training court or travelling for tournaments. So his place is modest, but it's home. The main room is open plan, the kitchen and front room all in one. The walls are plain white but decorated with canvasses of Bucky’s own photography, his second passion in life. It originally had two bedrooms but Bucky converted one of them into a home gym, something he’d forgotten when he invited Steve to stay.

“Thanks again for this Buck, I'll just crash on the couch.” Bucky knows from experience that his couch is comfortable enough to binge watch Criminal Minds on, but not so much for getting a restful nights sleep on.

“Or we can just share my room. Remember when we first met back in New York and we used to have sleepovers the nights before training so we could carpool to the courts?” Bucky says, smiling fondly at the memory of Sarah Rogers coming into her son’s room to check on them in the early hours of the morning and them pretending to be asleep. Steve’s smiling too.

“Yeah I remember. Man, that feels like a lifetime ago. You sure it's cool if I crash with you?”

“That's because it was pal. And yeah, wouldn't have offered if it wasn't. I warn you though, I snore.” Bucky says, and leads the way to his bedroom.

“Yeah, I remember that.” Steve responds, and gets a pair of Bucky’s old shorts thrown in his face as a response.

“You can wear those, smartass.” Bucky says, before walking into his bathroom to find a spare toothbrush for Steve. He gives it to him and then leaves him to get changed, and goes to the main bathroom to get ready for bed himself.

When Bucky comes back, he has to stop himself from staring at the sight in front of him. Steve is sat in the bed on his phone, wearing his glasses, and it's so painfully domestic, Bucky can't help the small smile that appears on his face. He also can't help the voice in the back of his head that says how nice it would be to come home to this every day.

There's a chance the slightly bigger than a small crush he has on Steve is making its way to being full on feelings for Steve. Bucky’s fine with it. He is. He’ll deal with it, after the Olympics.

He walks around and gets into bed, quietly pleased that Steve had gone to the right side of the bed and left Bucky with his preferred left side. He checks his phone and sees 2 new twitter notifications, which is strange because he hasn't tweeted anything in weeks. The first one is video posted by Steve.

**@TheSteveRogers** : Great training session today with @ItsBuckyBarnes, question is, are the Olympic Games ready for us?

It's a video of him practicing with Clint earlier today, he had no idea Steve had been watching, let alone filming. The second notification is a tweet from Sam, to him and Steve.

**@Sam_Wilson** : Why you even tag him for, does he even remember his password?

Bucky snorts and types out a reply,

**@ItsBuckyBarnes** : @Sam_Wilson, yeah I do, it's RedWingSux123.

Steve snorts from his side of the bed as he sees the tweet.

“Really Buck? You don't tweet in weeks and when you do it's to mock Sam?”

“We all have our hobbies Steven.” Bucky responds before putting his phone down and laying down for the night. Steve follows suit, and turns his head to face Bucky.

“A week today and the games begin. You think we’re ready?” he asks. Bucky turns to look at Steve.

“I think we’re good Steve. I think we’ll be ready in a week. I think whatever happens on the doubles court, we’re both playing the best we’ve ever played on singles. And it's been fun hasn't it, training together? So win or lose, it's been a good time.” Steve smiles at him, but doesn't say anything.

“But like, we’re going to win though” Bucky says after a moment, and Steve laughs and hides his face in the pillow.

“Good night Buck.” Steve says, and closes eyes, his smile fading.

“Sleep well Stevie.” Bucky says, his eyes still on Steve, and realises he might just be in love.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bucky wakes up slowly, and becomes aware of three things in quick progression. Number 1 - he really needs a wee. Number 2 - there is a leg thrown across his, an arm resting over his bladder, and a head tucked into his neck. Number 3 - Steve Rogers is a cuddler. And Bucky is torn. He's torn because he kinda never wants to move from this spot, he wants to exist forever in this moment, with the sun shining in and showering Steve in gold. With Steve’s hair tickling his chin. With Steve’s arms around him. With Steve. But also, he really needs a wee. Ultimately, nature wins out, and he tries to carefully extract himself from Steve’s limbs. Steve’s not having it though, and mumbles something in his sleep and holds on tighter. Bucky thinks it's quite possibly the cutest thing he's ever seen in his life, but it doesn't help his bladder situation in the slightest. He tries a different approach, gently stroking Steve’s hair,

“Hey Steve, I’m sorry but I really gotta use the bathroom, sorry pal.” Steve sighs sleepily but blinks his eyes open briefly, before shutting them again and rolling over. Bucky gets out of bed and makes his way to the bathroom, to deal with bladder issue that stopped him from enjoying a sleepy Steve all pressed against him, and then a quick shower.

When he reenters the bedroom, Steve is dressed and, from the still damp hair, appears to have also had a shower. He’s also made the bed and folded the shorts Bucky had lent him. The feeling of domesticity that Bucky had gotten last night is back, and it shocks Bucky again how much he wants that. How much he wants it with Steve. Steve looks slightly bashful, where he sits on the edge of the bed.

“Uh, sorry about this morning, I didn't mean to go all octopus on you like that.” he says with a self deprecating smile. Bucky is so fond it actually hurts a little bit.

“Oh, don't worry about it, it is what it is you know. Did you sleep well?” Bucky had. Slept the best he's slept in weeks.

“Yeah, really well actually, I think I'm in love with your mattress.” Bucky smiles, and checks the time. It's 8.25am.

“Good. You wanna have breakfast here or head down to the training grounds and grab some food there and get some early practice in?”

“Let’s head out, all the extra practice we can get we should use.” Steve says, and picks up his racquet bag. Bucky grabs his from his room and his keys and opens the door for Steve.

“Right then, let's go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That was incredible guys, what happened between yesterday and today? You're playing leagues above where you were yesterday, you're reading each other better.” Clint asks enthusiastically as they pack up for the day.

Steve rubs the back of his neck and lets out a nervous laugh, “The wonders of a good night’s sleep I guess.” Clint just shakes his head and beams at them.

“Well whatever it is, keep it up guys, because it works. Seriously, play like that next week and you really may be in with a chance for gold.” 


	4. Deuce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky talk and the games begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only 2 chapters to go lads, I hope you're enjoying it so far. As usual, comments, kudos and hitting me up on tumblr.com are all appreciated @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)

When he got to the Olympic Village on Wednesday, Bucky was ready for a quick nap before heading for some last minute training before his first match the next day. His first round singles match was before he’d have to take to the court with Steve, and it wasn't going to be an easy one. He was up against Pietro Maximoff, a relative newcomer to the circuit. He was young, only 19, but he was fast. What he lacked in power, he made up for in speed, so Bucky couldn't rely on points from his serve like he can with so many other players. Steve had gotten there a few hours earlier, so rather than waiting to be given a room key at the desk, he sent Steve a quick text asking for the room number.

Steve looked tired when he opened the door for Bucky. “Hey man, when was the last time you slept, you look exhausted?”

“Like 30 hours ago maybe? I don't know, I had a nap on the plane but, I'm too amped up, I can't seem to stay asleep long.” Steve says with a sigh. 30 hours without sleep is too many in any situation, but especially when he’s out on court after Bucky tomorrow, and they have their doubles debut the morning after.

“Shit man, you gotta rest up. I'm gonna take a nap and then hit the practice courts. Wanna join me?” Bucky asks.

“What, on the court or in the nap?”

“Whichever? Both? Either way, I'm getting into that incredibly comfortable looking bed for the next hour at least.” Bucky says as he drops his stuff by the bed nearest the window, kicks off his shoes and gets in. He sets an alarm for 90 minutes from now, and gets comfortable. Steve follows suit, getting into the other bed in the room and lies down. And Bucky can practically feel the energy vibrating off him from the other side of the room.

“Rogers will you just, get over here.” he says without opening his eyes.

“What?” Steve says, slightly startled.

“I can feel you thinking too loudly. We both slept better last Wednesday after practice so just, come here and sleep.” Bucky responds. A few moments pass and he doesn't hear any movement. Bucky opens one eye and sees Steve just watching him. He sighs and gets up.

“Have to do everything myself apparently, move over, I like being on the left” he says and gets into Steve’s bed, and closes his eyes again. “Sleep now Stevie”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Bucky's alarm wakes him up, the first thing he sees is chest. Steve is asleep, and Bucky is currently tucked nicely under his chin, with Steve’s arms around him, and approximately zero desire to be anywhere else. If only his damn alarm would stop blaring without him having to move. Steve slowly wakes up, becoming more aware of the noise in the room. He stretches and relaxes, pressing his face into Bucky's hair.

“Buck, make it stop.” He mumbles sleepily into Bucky’s hair. Bucky makes to move and Steve holds him tighter.

“I'm getting mixed signals here Steve, you want me to turn the alarm off or stay here?” He says with a smile.

“Both? Fine, go turn it off. And then come back.” So Bucky does. He turns the alarm off and then climbs straight back into bed with Steve. Steve puts his arms around Bucky and absentmindedly strokes his back.

“You think maybe we should talk about this?” he asks quietly. He was going to wait until after the games, but he can't quite remember why right now. Steve shrugs a shoulder.

“Probably. You go first.” Bucky takes a breath. Why doesn't he feel nervous? He should feel nervous before confessing his feelings for his best friend right?

“Okay. I like you. A lot. I like going to sleep with you and I like waking up with you even more and I think, if you like it too, that maybe we could make it a permanent thing. Your turn.” Steve brushes his hand down Bucky’s arm until he finds his hand and links their fingers together.

“I like you too. I’ve liked you for so long Buck. I thought training every day with you would be great y’know, spending every day with my best friend? And it was, it was fun. But then I'd go home and hate it because after spending all day with you, all I wanted was to go home with you too.” Bucky squeezes Steve’s fingers and turns his face into his neck, before leaning back so he can see him.

“So. Are we like, dating now Rogers?” he says with a smirk. Steve laughs and looks down to meet Bucky’s eyes where they look up at him.

“Yeah I think we are.” he says, barely above a whisper.

“Hey Steve?”

“Yeah Buck?”

“Kiss me?”

And Steve does. With one hand around Bucky, and the other linked with his, he leans down and kisses Bucky for the first time. It doesn't last long, a short press of lips, but it's a promise of more to come.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Game Rogers. Rogers leads 5 games to 4, and 1 set to love. Rogers to serve”

Bucky is sitting in the stands with Nick and Sarah, watching as Steve serves for the match. He’d been on this court and beat Pietro in straight sets. He’d been right, it hadn't been an easy match, Pietro broke his serve twice in the first set, but Bucky had broken back both times and then managed to hold his serve to take the set. Steve is now doing the same thing, against Tony Stark. It's been an entertaining match, Stark knew how to create risky shots that looked spectacular, and had the crowd cheering, but they weren't really a match for Steve’s power and focus. Bucky watches as Steve wins 3 points in a row to go 40 love up. All he's got to do now is serve an ace and he's through to the next round.

“Game, set and match Rogers.”

Steve lets out a cheer of victory and punches the air, the crowd cheer and applaud, and Bucky cheers along with them. Whilst Steve shakes hands with Tony and the umpire, Bucky takes out his phone to send a message to Nat, and heads back to their room.

 **Bucky [17:37]** : You busy?   
**Nat [17:38]** : not really, what's up?   
**Bucky [17:38]** : nothing, can you come to mine and steve’s room in like 20 minutes?  
 **Bucky [17:39]** : got something to tell you   
**Bucky [17:39]** : bring birdman   
**Nat [17:40]** : sure see u then

Just as Bucky’s about to put his phone away, he gets another message notification,

 **Sam [17:41]** : birdman? we’ll see whose laughing when i fly over there and whoop ur ass   
**Bucky [17:41]** : :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Steve has some press to do, so by the time he gets back to the room, Sam and Nat are already there and have made themselves comfortable on what was Bucky’s bed, Nat sat with an arm around Sam, and Sam leaning onto her.

“Hey guys, how’s it going? Buck, we got any food?” Steve asks, suddenly very aware of the 2 hours he just spent on court and how hungry he is.

“Chicken and rice under the time foil in the other room. Great game by the way, didn't I tell you there was no way you’d lose to Stark?” Bucky says with a smile. Steve is confused for a moment, unsure of what Bucky is referring to, until he remembers their conversation after Bucky won Wimbledon.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess you were right.” Steve says, as he comes back in and sits on his bed next to Bucky. “Sorry guys, I never gave you a chance to reply, how you feeling about your first match tomorrow?” he asks Sam and Nat.

“Pretty good y’know. We’re both really solid right now, so it's more excitement than nerves really. What about you two, how are you feeling for your first doubles match? Also, Bucky, what did you want to tell us?” Nat answers, quirking an eyebrow at Bucky.

“Oh right. So Steve and I, we’re um, we’re together. We’re going to keep it quiet, at least until after the games, but we wanted you guys to be the first to know.” Bucky answers, and takes Steve’s hand.

“No way! That's awesome man, since when? Shit guys, I'm happy for you both, this is great.” Sam says, and jumps up to give them both a hug.

“Yeah me too guys, can't exactly say I'm surprised though. I was more surprised the first time I met you guys and found out you weren't together. But for real, I'm happy for you.” Nat says, throwing a smile at both of them.

“Thanks guys, we talked things out yesterday and turns out we’ve both been on the same page for a while. And we figured, hey, Sam and Nat have been together forever and are the best mixed doubles team out here, made sense to give it a go.” Steve says, and they all laugh at him.

“You on before us tomorrow?” Sam asks, and Bucky nods.

“Yeah, Nat, you and Claire closing the doubles games tomorrow, or are you on Friday?”

“Friday thankfully, I'm good, but two matches in a row is asking a lot even for me. We’ll come down and watch you guys though, I'm excited to see what you can do.” Steve squeezes Bucky’s hand and presses a kiss to his temple.

“You and me both Nat.”


	5. Barnes and Rogers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky's first doubles match finally arrives. Can they pull it off?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was going to like, stagger the updates over the week and it was going to finish the day of the Wimbledon final but...I have no willpower so you get the rest today. 
> 
> As before, please enjoy, kudos and comments are appreciated, let me know what you think on tumblr @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)

As it turns out, what Steve and Bucky can do, is absolute magic. They move like they've been choreographed, they react to each other like they're one, they anticipate the others next move before they've even made it. It's a thing of beauty, and the crowd is absolutely eating it up. They've only ever seen them opposite each other, seeing them together though, that's a gift. They drop the first set in the tie break, but then win the next 3 to take the match.

They're both buzzing when they go through to do the press conference, and so it seems are the journalists.

“Mr Barnes, Mr Rogers, last time we saw you two on a court together, it was the Wimbledon final. How does it feel to play alongside someone that's been a rival for so long?” Bucky answers first.

“Steve has only ever been a rival on the court, he couldn't possibly be a nicer guy off of it, so it's been an absolute joy to train with him. He’s just the best, and he brings out the best in me, doesn't matter if he's standing opposite me or beside me.” Steve smiles at him and leans into his mic.

“It’s mutual, we’ve discussed it.” he says, which gets a few laughs from the press pit.

“If all goes to plan, odds are the two of you will meet again at the singles finals in a few days. Is it going to be harder to oppose one another now that you've played as a team?” Bucky looks to Steve to answer.

“I think, physically it's going to be harder. We’ve trained together, we’ve seen each other's strengths and weaknesses, we know each other's games, so that's going to make it trickier to have any element of surprise. Mentally though, y’know, we’ve been friends for 15, 16 years, and if you can stand across from your best friend knowing you have to try and beat him, then you can stand across from your partner and do the same thing”  
Bucky smiles at the use of the word partner, true now in every sense of the word.

“I think knowing him the way I do, will only make playing him more fun than it already is.” he says. They take a couple more questions before thanking the press for their time and heading out to watch Sam and Nat. Sam and Nat move like extensions of each other, when one jumps, the other ducks, Nat moves forward and Sam instantly moves back. They play like one player, and it's exquisite to watch, the connection they share.

“You think we’ll ever look that good together?” Bucky says, leaning in close so the cameras can’t pick it up.

“I don't know babe, I think we look pretty good together as it is” Steve says quietly.

“On the court?” Bucky asks. Steve quirks an eyebrow.

“If you like,” he says, reaching over to link his little finger with Bucky’s. In the end, Pietro and Wanda prove tough opponents, taking the match all the way through to 3 sets, but Sam and Nat finish victorious. Bucky and Steve both have to be on court the next day though, so they send Sam and Nat a congratulatory message before heading to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the next 5 days, Steve and Bucky managed to battle off opponents on both the singles court and the doubles court, and they were each one match away from victory in both.

They laid in bed, Steve spooned up behind Bucky as Bucky absentmindedly played with Steve fingers where they rested on his abdomen. Tomorrow was their last day at the Olympics as a doubles pair, and Friday would be their last as singles players. Their match tomorrow would be a tough one, against a Nordic duo, Thor and Loki. They were amazing. Thor was the power and Loki was cunning, he created incredible slick shots. It was going to be a battle.

“Stevie?” Bucky says quietly, not really wanting to disrupt the peace of the moment.

“Yeah Buck?” Steve answers, and presses a kiss to the Bucky’s nape.

“How do you feel about tattoo’s?” Steve hadn't ever really thought about getting one, but he's intrigued to see where Bucky’s going with this.

“I like David Beckham’s, why?” Bucky turns so he’s facing Steve.

“If we win tomorrow, I was thinking, and feel free to say no, but we could maybe get matching ones to like, mark the moment forever. If you want.” and Bucky’s trying to play it off as casual, but Steve can hear the hope in his voice, and he can see it when he meets Bucky’s eyes.

“If we win tomorrow, I'll get whatever you want me to get tattooed” he says, and Bucky’s eyes light up.

“You sure? I was thinking I could get a compass pointing east. Because New York is east coast and it's home that's where we met and it's where I found my home, so it'll always be pointing back to you.” Steve is helpless to do anything but smile, and lean in to kiss him, he brings his hand up to hold Bucky’s face, and hopes that he can feel all the emotions Steve doesn't know how to say. He pulls back slightly and rests his forehead against Bucky’s.

“I want to get an anchor. Because that's what you are for me Buck, what you’ve always been. My anchor, keeping me grounded when it would be all too easy to get carried away in the craziness. If I'm your home, then you’re my anchor.” Bucky smiles softly, and presses a gentle kiss to Steve’s lips. As much as he wants to win tomorrow, it wouldn't be the end of the world if they didn't, because this unexpected turn in his career has given him so much more than he had ever hoped for. He pulls Steve closer to him with the arm thrown over his waist, and tucks his head into Steve’s neck, and just breathes the moment in. It's a perfect moment, one of life's most fragile and beautiful instances, and he almost doesn't want to sleep and lose it. He strokes Steve’s back and presses kisses to his neck as Steve runs his fingers through Bucky’s hair. And in the quiet of their room, Bucky is unable to stop himself from saying,

“I love you.”

Steve’s breath catches in his throat, and he leans down to kiss the top of Bucky's head.

“I love you too.” 


	6. Advantage Rogers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The finals are here, will it be Bucky or Steve who come out on top?

Bucky and Steve’s match begins after Sam and Nat’s final, which they win in straight sets, and the whole US camp is buzzing off their first tennis gold of the year. The buzz seems to help Bucky and Steve who win their first set 6 games to 4, but they're currently down 4 games to 2 and it's Thor and Loki to serve. Steve and Bucky are sat having a drink and towelling off between games.

“We just need to stay focused Buck, we have the skill to beat them, we’re two of the best returners in the game. Also, we gotta win, there's couples tattoos at stake.” Steve says and bumps his fist with Bucky’s, and they make their way back to the court. Bucky takes a moment to centre himself, breathes in, let's it out slow, and shuts out everything but the court, and Loki’s serve. Steve’s right, they are the best returners in the game right now, and Bucky leaves no doubt about that when he wins the first point on Loki’s serve, and the crowd absolutely love it. And Steve and Bucky feed on that, they find their rhythm again, and in half an hour they've gone from being down 2 games, to serving for the match. They have two match points in hand and Steve is on serve. Bucky crouches and waits for the sound of Steve’s serve to come, the sound of potentially the winning serve of the tournament.

Steve serves. Bucky jumps for the return. It doesn't come.

“Game, set and match, Barnes and Rogers” The crowd are on their feet, cheering and shouting and applauding. They’ve done it, the team who have been playing together for a month have done what most would call impossible and won Olympic gold. Steve and Bucky let out a victory cheer and Bucky turns to find Steve right behind him ready for a celebratory hug.

“Holy shit, we’re getting tattoos” Bucky says into Steve’s ear. Steve throws his head back with laughter and that's the photo every media outlet uses to report the news. Barnes and Rogers, Olympic champions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's not until the press conference that Steve and Bucky remember that this isn't where the tournament ends for them. They've got to go back to playing opposite each other.

“How are you both feeling about your final against each other tomorrow?” a French journalist asks.

“I can't speak for Steve but I'm feeling pretty good. It's nice, playing against your friend because y’know, you go out and give it your all and play the best game you can and if you lose, there's not really any bitterness, you're still happy for your friend, and if you win you know your opponent is genuinely happy for you. So it'll be a fun match.” Bucky says and looks to Steve to see if he has anything to add.

“Bucky pretty much summed it up, I'm looking forward to it. But for now I think we’re going to enjoy this win, thank you guys.” Steve adds, bringing an end to the conference, and stepping up from the table. He waits for Bucky and they head back to the village, Steve sending a text to Sam as they go.

 **Steve [18:23]** : Gold medal drinks in our room?   
**Sam [18:24]** : be there in 20

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nat and Sam’s tournament ended with two gold medals - one in the mixed doubles and one for Nat in the women's doubles. They're in Steve and Bucky’s room celebrating what is one of the best results for the US doubles teams in recent years.

“I can't believe it's all done tomorrow, do you guys think you’ll still be playing for the next ones?” Steve asks. Sam and Nat share a look. Nat raises one eyebrow and Sam tilts his head in return.

“Guys, you know I find it unnerving when you talk without talking, what's going on?” Bucky says.

“So Nat and I have some news.” Sam starts and looks to Nat to continue.

“I'm pregnant - 12 weeks along.” Nat finishes, and Sam presses a kiss to her temple.

“Holy shit you guys! You're having a baby!” Steve says and jumps up to hug them both and Bucky follows suit.

“Hold up, are you telling us you just won two Olympic golds, whilst pregnant?” Bucky asks Nat whilst he hugs her. She laughs and nods.

“Fuck me Nat, you're something else you know that?” Bucky says, beaming at her, and going back to sit with Steve.

“Yeah, she's pretty spectacular” Sam says, with nothing but love in his eyes as he looks at his wife.

“Yeah, I'm pretty spectacular.” Nat says, earning a laugh from the boys. “We should go though, leave you guys to get some rest for tomorrow” she adds, and they all say goodnight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they lay together that night, they’re both surprised at the lack of nerves they feel.

“Good luck tomorrow Buck.”

“You too Steve.”

“I'm gonna get you back for that Wimbledon final.”

“Wouldn't expect anything less.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They promised the crowds a fun match and a fun match is what they delivered. Steve broke Bucky’s serve 3 times in the first set, and Bucky broke back 4 times to take the first set. They tease each other and rev each other up and ebb each other on, and Steve comes back and takes the second set. They know each other's strengths and they play to them, trying to make as entertaining a match as they can, but they know each other's weaknesses too and how to expose them. Steve takes the third set in a tie break and is now 5-4 up and serving for the match in the fourth set. The score is deuce.

Bucky bounces at the baseline and waits for Steve’s serve. When it comes he can't even get his racquet to the ball. He looks to the speed board and laughs. 139mph. He looks to Steve who shrugs like he doesn't quite know what to say to an ace like that.

“Nice shot” he mouths. Steve smiles and gets ready to serve again.

“Advantage Rogers.” the umpire says, and quiets the crowd. Steve serves, Bucky returns and he knows before it happens that it's going into the net, Steve’s serve too strong for him to get behind.

“Game set and match Rogers!”

Steve jumps with a cheer, punching the air in victory, and Bucky applauds along with the crowd as he walks to the net to shake Steve’s hand. Steve uses the hand to pull Bucky into a hug.

“Proud of you babe.” Bucky says into his ear, and Steve beams at him before he gets swept away into interviews. Bucky watches with pride as the crowd cheers Steve’s name, and then gets ready for the awards ceremony.

  
Silver’s pretty good he figures, watching Steve sign autographs. He won something better than gold anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the Epilogue left lads! I hope you've enjoyed it up to here. 
> 
> Let me know what you think with kudos or comments or on tumblr @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)


	7. Epilogue - A Year On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets the chance to reclaim his Wimbledon title.

It's a year, almost to the day, since Bucky beat Steve at Wimbledon. In that year, they've won 3 Olympic medals between them, got matching tattoos, come out to the press, played each other in 2 grand slam finals - Steve winning Australia and Bucky winning France, become godparents to Sam and Nat’s baby girl, Riley.

And now they're back at Wimbledon’s centre court, once again facing off against each other for the title. It's gone all the way to a fifth set and there's no tie break. They play until someone wins a 2 game lead. It's been nearly 4 hours and it's currently 12-11 to Steve, and Bucky’s trying to hold his serve to stay in the game. Steve isn't making it easy though, he's returning better than ever, he's like a machine and has him at break point.

Bucky breathes in, bounces the ball, breathes out, and serves. It's a solid serve but Steve sends it back, Bucky tries to force him to play a forehand volley but Steve returns it with ease, dropping it just over the net. Bucky runs for it, sliding into the shot and just manages to get his racquet to the ball, but it's no use, he hits it into the net.

“Game, set and match Rogers!”

Bucky watches from where he is on the ground as Steve throws his racquet up as he jumps in celebration, and let's out a roar of victory. Steve throws a punch of victory towards his box, where his mum sits next to Bucky’s. Bucky’s disappointed of course, not to have retained his title, but the pride he feels to see his boyfriend become a two time Wimbledon champion outweighs his own disappointment. He stands as Steve walks towards the net, and instead of the usual handshake and hug, he pulls Bucky into a kiss. Steve pulls back with a smile and Bucky almost definitely looks delirious with how big his smile is in return. The crowd, if possible, cheer even louder as Steve turns and gives enough victory air punch and heads to shake the umpire's hand and then into the press pen.

“Well Steve, you said last year you'd be back to reclaim your title, and boy did you deliver. How does it feel to once again, be Wimbledon champion?”

"Winning is an incredible feeling, and to play against Bucky again on this court, whatever the outcome, it still would have been like winning. To tell the truth, I feel like I win every day with Bucky at my side." Steve replies, and the camera turns to capture Bucky’s reaction, who’s blushing and rubbing at his neck. Steve takes the opportunity to reach into his pocket. He turns to where Bucky is stood, and opens the small box he just retrieved.

“I would like to keep winning every day for the rest of my life, if you’ll have me Buck?” It feels like whole crowd holds a collective breath as they wait for Bucky’s response.

“Did you play the whole match with that in your pocket?” Steve looks at him, exasperated.

“Really Buck? I propose to you and that's what you focus on? No, it was in my racquet bag, now do you want to be my husband?” A smile spreads across Bucky’s face, and his eyes soften and he raises his hands to cup Steve’s face.

“Yes, of course, always.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is it, it's all done. It's been fun to write, I hope it's been fun to read too. The main story is over, but I may be back with some outtakes of this story. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in kudos or comments or on tumblr @[iamnotsebastianstan](http://iamnotsebastianstan.tumblr.com)


End file.
